Cigar City Vanilla Aged Maduro Oatmeal Brown
Cigar City Brewing Company
Tampa, FL.
5.50% ABV

C. Clear
H. Dark Brown with Red Highlights
N. Hints of Tootsie Rolls, Carmel, Milk Chocolate

El Guapo; Thanks to “The Ferm” for bringing a growler of this down from the Hunahpu release party. Wish I could have been there… I was too busy in California drinking over-hyped beers *cough* Pliny *cough*. So this beer had a pretty weak nose with Tootsie Rollish notes. The vanilla hit hard the first sip then died down a bit as I kept drinking… then came back as it warmed up. A vanilla roller coaster if you will… Not that I have ever ridden one. Nothing too crazy great about this beer. Just Maduro with a lot of vanilla. Some chocolate/caramel notes as well and again that Tootsie Roll thing coming through in the taste. I liked it but wouldn’t want to drink more than one at a time. I think the vanilla would get obnoxious after a while. Anyways I love how CCB experiments with their beers and ages them on a bunch of different crap.
Score: 3.45678910

The Ferm; If Cigar City was to make a beer of theirs into a syrup for pancakes (I love pancakes btw), I think this would be a prime selection. The beer is sort-a sweet but not over-powering, has a very strong artificial vanilla flavor to it, and a hint of weak coffee. The aftertaste is almost maple syrup-y. Very interesting beer. Sadly, this is probably my least favor Cigar City Beer, but it is still very good. Just like all of their beers it is easy to drink and enjoy more than one. Good but not Great Beer!
Score: 3.42

Overall: 3.43839455

**Keep in mind that the scoring is done completely separately, we were pretty close on this one.**

Cubano Espresso
Cigar City Brewing
Tampa, FL
5.50% ABV

C. Clear
H. Dark Brown
N. Smells like straight espresso coffee

Dos; Soooo good. I had this beer for the first time a couple of weeks ago when I had my first trip to the brewery. Super “coffee ness”! I liked it enough to get a growler of it, and it was well worth it. Reminder: I hate coffee, but I love this beer. You get more of it in your nose from the aftertaste than in your mouth. I dated this chick that smoked (gross), but she was such a good kisser that I totally dug it. Her new name is Cuban Espresso! Yum!
Score: 4.410

Ferm; Ok this is another one of those I think I might accidentally attempt to order this beer at Starbucks instead of at a bar. Straight coffee on this one, although it is very refreshing and light bodied. Unlike the Wake N’ Bake from Terrapin this beer is smooth, light, and not very filling. There is a hint of brown sugar and cinnamon lingering around the taste of the beer. This bee is pretty dangerous.
Score:4.018

Overall: 4.214

Jai Alai IPA
Cigar City Brewing
Tampa, FL
7.5% ABV

C. Clear
H. Gold
N. Strong Citrus Hops

Dos; Mmmm good! Just like Mama used to make except Mama didn’t make this, CCB did. This is “THAT” beer. Very lovely IPA and definitely a Growler friendly beer too. Nice citrusy smell and taste. Very good color, clear and decent head. A pleasant IPA for someone getting into the “good beer” scene. I would compare this to a hooker actually. The girl knows what she’s doing but isn’t too overpowering since she knows you probably don’t get it as much as you want, but are willing to spend some money. I will always have at least one growler full of this in my fridge at all times!
Score:4.26

Ferm; Yep, Cigar City has done it again. This is not your normal IPA. Jai Alai starts with a nice citrus odor and then slaps you in the face with a great balance of malt and hop bitterness. This is a great tasting and perfect IPA. I have had this beer in bottle and on tap and I can say the fresher that you can get you hands on it, the better it is. This is my type of IPA!
Score: 4.542

Overall: 4.401

Big Sound Scotch Ale
Cigar City Brewing
Tampa, FL
8.50% ABV

C. Cloudy almost like mud
H. Brown
N. Very little odor at all

Dos; Ok, so prior to today I have had some pretty “not so good” scotch ales, but this one separates it from the rest. Now when you look at it it’s like “Is this mud and water in my glass or what”? Well it isn’t because it is a pretty damn good beer. Kind of sweet, smooth, definitely not light at all. Some scotch ales I have previously had were surprisingly light. I don’t even want to compare this to any skanky girls really. I’m just going to enjoy. I’m at Cigar City and you’re not. Sucks for you nerd.
Score: 4.37

Ferm; Slap a kilt on me and call me Scottish. I personally am not a fan of this style very much so at all, but this is a great beer to sit and drink a few. Just like men wearing dresses..sorry I meant kilts, this beer has a mild fruity-ness to it. And unlike those same men’s legs wearing the kilts this beer is silky smooth. It has a sweet finish too. I would say this is easy a beer that you can sit and have a few of. I personally am looking forward to trying this beer on Cask tomm night at the release. Very good beer.
Score: 4.243
**Update** Ok this beer on cask was good, but it didn’t come across with the same flavors. Actually it sorta tasted similar to how it looked, muddy. Personal opinion stick to the mature carbonated version of this mean scotch ale.

Overall: 4.3065

HAPPY ST.PATRICKS DAY!!!

Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale
Cigar City Brewing
Tampa, FL
5.5% ABV

C. Clear
H. Dark Brown with a SEXXXY Brown Head
N. Very little odor at all

Dos; This one is very very drinkable. Maybe not a 6-pack in one night thing, but nice and light. Honestly, nothing special, but not a bad beer for brown ale. Really not too much of a smell though. I hate to say it since I am drinking this beer at the brewery, but I have had better brown ales. This beer is just like that one chick (name won’t be mentioned…Amanda) that isn’t bad but isn’t good, but I keep going back to it because it is available and always satisfies when the night is over.
Score: 3.21

Ferm; Once again not the first time having this beer, but first time having it to review. This is Cerveza Chica’s favorite Brown Ale, and I can see where she is coming from. This is a very drinkable brown ale, that is smooth and light bodied. It has a bit of a nutty taste to it, but nothing over powering to it. I personally had a hint of alcohol burn at the very end of the taste, but nothing that was crazy. I personally can not wait to try the Vanilla Maduro which I was able to snag a growler of. Overall solid beer!
Score: 3.98

Overall: 3.595